Rajiv Mani pushes uniform legislative drafting at 36th ILDR course
Synopsis
India's top law-drafting bureaucrat is pushing for a standardised legislative framework across all states — a quiet but consequential reform. With 18 officers from 13 states now in training at the 36th ILDR course, the Centre is using structured capacity-building to close the quality gap in how Indian laws are written and implemented.
Key Takeaways
Rajiv Mani , Secretary of the Legislative Department and Department of Legal Affairs, called for uniform legislative drafting standards across India on 23 July .
The 36th Basic Course in Legislative Drafting , run by the ILDR , runs from 22 July to 25 September at Kartavya Bhavan-02, New Delhi.
18 trainee officers from 13 states and one Union Territory are participating in the current batch.
The Reform Utsav and Chintan Shivir in Mount Abu was inaugurated by MoS Law Arjun Ram Meghwal on 4 July , focusing on technology-driven legal reforms.
The initiative is linked to the national goal of 'Viksit Bharat @2047' , aiming for a modern, citizen-centric legal ecosystem.
Rajiv Mani, Secretary of the Legislative Department and Department of Legal Affairs, on Wednesday, 23 July called for uniform legislative drafting standards across India, stressing that consistency in law-making is essential for effective implementation. Mani addressed participants at the inaugural session of the 36th Basic Course in Legislative Drafting, organised by the Institute of Legislative Drafting and Research (ILDR) at Vidhayi Sabhagar, Kartavya Bhavan-02, New Delhi.
What the Course Covers
The training programme, running from 22 July to 25 September, has brought together 18 trainee officers drawn from 13 states and one Union Territory. The course is designed to deepen participants' understanding of legislative drafting principles while offering hands-on exposure to drafting legislative instruments — equipping them with the technical skills required for precision law-making.
The inaugural session was also attended by Manoj Kumar, Additional Secretary and Course Director (ILDR), along with other senior officers of the Department.
What Mani Said
Addressing the gathering, Mani said the course reaffirms the Department's commitment to strengthening legislative drafting capacity through structured training and institutional capacity-building. He underscored that uniformity and precision in drafting are not procedural niceties but foundational to good governance — ensuring that laws passed by different legislatures can be implemented coherently across the country.
Broader Reform Push
Mani's remarks at the ILDR course follow an earlier intervention at a legislative reform conclave held in Mount Abu, Rajasthan, where he outlined the Ministry's vision of building an efficient, accessible, and future-ready legal ecosystem aligned with the national goal of 'Viksit Bharat @2047'.
That conclave — the Reform Utsav and Chintan Shivir — was inaugurated on 4 July by Arjun Ram Meghwal, Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Law and Justice. Deliberations centred on legal, legislative, and institutional reforms aimed at building a modern, technology-driven, and citizen-centric legal ecosystem.
Why It Matters
India's federal structure means that legislative drafting quality varies significantly across states, sometimes creating ambiguities that invite litigation or impede enforcement. A standardised drafting framework — of the kind the ILDR course promotes — could reduce such inconsistencies and accelerate the Centre's broader legal modernisation agenda. The programme is expected to promote uniformity, precision, and excellence in legislative drafting and strengthen the institutional capacity of states and Union Territories, according to an official statement.
With the 36th batch now underway, the ILDR's multi-month residential course remains one of the few structured mechanisms through which the Centre directly shapes drafting practices at the state level — a quiet but consequential lever of legal reform.
Point of View
But arguably more impactful — poorly drafted state laws are a persistent source of litigation, implementation failure, and governance friction. The ILDR course is one of the few mechanisms where the Centre directly shapes how state governments write law, yet it trains only 18 officers at a time across a country with dozens of legislative bodies. The link to 'Viksit Bharat @2047' signals that the Ministry is framing technical legal capacity as a development imperative, not just a bureaucratic exercise. Whether the ambition scales beyond annual training batches into systemic drafting standards enforceable at the state level remains the real test.
NationPress
23 Jul 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
What did Legal Affairs Secretary Rajiv Mani say about legislative drafting?
Rajiv Mani called for uniform legislative drafting standards across India, arguing that consistency in law-making is essential for effective implementation. He made these remarks at the inaugural session of the 36th Basic Course in Legislative Drafting organised by the ILDR on 23 July in New Delhi.
What is the ILDR's 36th Basic Course in Legislative Drafting?
It is a structured training programme run by the Institute of Legislative Drafting and Research (ILDR) under the Legislative Department, designed to build drafting skills among government officers. The current batch runs from 22 July to 25 September and includes 18 trainee officers from 13 states and one Union Territory.
What was the Reform Utsav and Chintan Shivir held in Mount Abu?
The Reform Utsav and Chintan Shivir was a legislative reform conclave held in Mount Abu, Rajasthan, inaugurated by Minister of State for Law and Justice Arjun Ram Meghwal on 4 July. It focused on legal, legislative, and institutional reforms aimed at creating a modern, technology-driven, and citizen-centric legal ecosystem.
How does uniform legislative drafting connect to Viksit Bharat @2047?
The Ministry of Law and Justice has framed standardised, high-quality legislative drafting as a prerequisite for the efficient, accessible legal ecosystem envisioned under the 'Viksit Bharat @2047' national development goal. Consistent drafting reduces litigation risk and improves the enforceability of laws across states.
Who else attended the 36th ILDR course inaugural session?
The inaugural session was attended by Manoj Kumar, Additional Secretary and Course Director of the ILDR, along with other senior officers of the Department of Legal Affairs.
